Alanya Kestelspor: Turkish club say players and staff 'lucky to be alive' after bus crash

An emergency rescue vehicle was needed to move the overturned bus which had been carrying the Alanya Kestelspor team

Turkish club Alanya Kestelspor say it is lucky none of their players or staff were killed in a "serious" bus accident on the way back from a game.

The club's president said two players needed surgery for their injuries and remain in a serious condition.

Eleven other players, along with the team's coach and assistant coach, also needed hospital treatment.

"Thankfully we did not lose our lives in this heavy accident that saddens us all," a club statement said.

The team, who are top of their division in the fourth tier of the Turkish league, were returning from a league match at Ofspor which they won 1-0.

The accident happened when the team arrived back at about 04:20 local time.

Club president Levent Uğur told Turkish media the bus had overturned and was lying on its side when it was "dragged on the ground for 100 metres".

The club statement added: "Our minibus carrying our team had an accident and our coach, his assistant and 13 players were injured in the accident.

"After the accident, they were transferred to the hospitals in the region and their treatment was started.

"One of our players was referred to Antalya Medical Faculty for surgery and another player was taken into surgery at ALKU Training and Research Hospital.

"The treatments of our other players and technical team continue."

The Turkish Football Federation expressed its sadness at the accident and wished a "speedy recovery" to those injured.

Many other clubs - including Turkish champions Trabzonspor and Galatasaray - also released supportive messages.